Move in day!

Yesterday we were actually able to move in, which is awesome!!! We moved in pretty much everything with the help of our friends Eric, Josh, and Talia. Put most of our stuff away too, we have books (which we need bookcases for), Clothes to hang up, etc. So we spent our first night in the new place tonight and I have to tell you I slept like a baby in our new bed... I never thought it would feel so nice to see a bed until it hit 1am....ha ha. Took a nice Hot shower this morning, so that was pretty awesome. Just looking forward to getting the rest of our stuff from the RV and moving it on in, but it should be just little stuff from now on. Yipeee, It is so nice to be in this place, Just have to thank the Lord for opening the door for us :) I will take some pictures soon and post them, but right now you don't want to see the place because there are boxes everywhere still. More to come :)

Nooma video "Rain"

Imagine this....

It's early in the morning and the sun just barely rises over the lake and a Father takes his 1 year old son on a hike early in the morning. The Father puts his son in a backpack as they hike around the lake with the fog still over the lake from the cool night.. As they re hiking around it's a moment that you wish you could just freeze because it is just so beautiful. As they get halfway around the lake the Father looks up and sees dark clouds. Shortly after, it starts to drizzle and then it is pouring rain. With lightning and thunder, the Father hikes faster to get home with his son on his back still he puts the hood on his son's head. They are soaking wet, his son starts crying at the top of his lungs and at points shrieking out of fear from the lightning and thunder. The Father grabs his son out of the carrier and brings him closer to his body and whispers to him " I love you son, we're gonna make it!" Still hiking through all the rain, thunder, and lightning and whispering "I love you son, we're gonna make it!"

Isn't our relationship with God just like this? We puts us onto His back and we follow His lead through so much beauty and we wish we could just freeze that moment. And when the storms rage, the rain falls, and the lightning strikes we pulls us off His back and brings us close into His body and whispers "I Love you, we're gonna make it!" We're gonna make it through the storm and the rain eventhough we're scared... But we are protected under his strength and loving arms. He just simply whispers in our ear "I love you, we're gonna make it!" It's when we go through these trials that God pulls us close to Him.

Has there ever been a moment in your life you just wanted to freeze because it was so beautiful? Do you think that there is an easier way than to have to go through trials?

The most precious thing

Today I heard our baby's heart beat for the first time! It was such a special moment, I cried the whole way home from the Dr's. Everything is still looking good so far, next visit I have to take another HIV test... they said the results were indefinite... whatever that means. So far so good, I should be getting my lab results from the exam in a week or so. Other than that just my clothes getting tighter and tighter. I think in the next 4 weeks I should be getting a belly here :)

Willow Tree

I have recently purchased 3 pieces of the Willow Tree by Demdaco for our new apartment, so here is a picture I took quickly of them this morning.

So, our intended move in date is now Wednesday instead of this last weekend, but we will just have to wait and see if they did actually finish the apartment. These last couple of days has been kind of hard because we had arranged eveything perfectly for the move this weekend. So now, we have no Hot Water and no home telephone or internet. You wouldn't think hot water would be such a big deal until you go to take a shower. Anyway, that's it for now I think. I will most likely post another because I have a Dr's appointment this morning.

Not moving this weekend!!!!!

Andrew and I are thoroughly mad this weekend... which would have been a perfect weekend to move by the way. We called the apartments Friday morning to pick up keys and said that the contractor has still not finished the granite countertops. So, we had everything shut off, telephone, internet, etc. Now they are telling us we may not be able to move in until Wed. I cannot believe this, they moved our date from the 1st to the 2nd and now not until next week. Andrew is going to get aggressive with them and have them comp us another free month since they have now taken away 1/2 of our free month due to their own problems not ours. Sorry, but they will breach their contract if they don't comp us a month like promised. We had gas turned on, electric, etc at our new apartment too so that is one more thing. Luckily, my work is accomodating and will allow me time off mid week to move if necessary. I am so mad, so we spent all today cleaning up the RV and getting it ready for our new possible owner. Geesh, can you believe it???

Proud new owner of a....

Simmons Durst Heights Plush matress... After a little looking we found a very firm but comfy matress and NO it is not a pillow top. They are too soft :) We went to JCPenney's and they said it would take 5-10 business days to deliver so that wouldn't work! We went to this place called "Matress Discounters" and they can let us do a store pick up since we have a big truck and save ourselves the delivery. Tomorrow we will pick it up after work and do the rest of our moving. Pretty cool!!! Yippeee we move in tomorrow :)

"Ordinary Love" Toby Mac - Portable Sounds

Momma never said it would be like this
I never knew such bliss existed
Or maybe it's just so indescribable
Love was liable to get her twisted
She never told me but if she tried I was a little to young it floated right by me
I never dreamed love so fulfilling it's simply killing and over spilling on me
It goes on and on and on and on and on
Its over spillin' on me
It goes on and on and on and on and on
It goes on and on, Yo
This ain't no ordinary
This ain't no ordinary love
This ain't no ordinary
Gonna tell everyone up under the sun (2 times)
I refuse to believe we're a dying breed
Children of peace, hope and harmony
Ordinary folks extraordinary love
Something from above
Something we fall short of
You can't see with an untrained eye
But if you take a little time you are sure to find it
We complicate something so basic
But once you taste it, you gonna chase it like me
It goes on and on, Yo
It goes on and on
This ain't no ordinary
This ain't no ordinary love
This ain't no ordinary
Gonna tell everyone up under the sun (3 times)
A-yo here we go, open up the gates and let it flow...
A-yo here we go, Love's gonna take us higher (2 times)
This ain't no ordinary...
This ain't no ordinary love
This ain't no ordinary
Gonna tell everyone up under the sun
This ain't no ordinary
This ain't no ordinary love
This ain't no ordinary
Gonna tell everyone, tell everyone (2 times)
This ain't no ordinary love
It's extraordinary love (2 times)

Moving date March 2nd and 3rd

We have been keeping in contact with our complex managers to see if the unit was going to be ready by March 1st and they postponed it to March 2dn because they still had to put the granite countertops in. Okay.... so one more day! I only have a few more things to pack like our dishes, cups, silverware, etc, but I was trying to wait til the last minute because I kind of have to use this stuff :) Last night, we went to look at some mattresses, we stopped by Gottschalks but I think we are going to pass on them- too expensive. A couple that went with us said we should go and look at the Select Comfort (Sleep Number) beds, so we went by the mall but after them offering a basic mattress for a cool $1800... we decided this was not the route to go right now. Although in the future I would LOVE one of these beds. The most comfortable bed by far!!! JCpenney is having a furniture and matress sale so we will probably stop by there today and see if we can find a good deal.

We posted an ad for our 5th wheel on RVtrader.com and we actually have gotten now 6 or 7 bites from this ad now and quite a few people that want to stop by to take a look. Also, we forgot that we are paid up on our current rent until the 15th of March so after we move we are going to keep the RV here until the 10th so we can show buyers the rv while nobody is in it. We have a few serious buyers, so hopefully someone will buy this quickly. Keep that in prayer.

God has been good to us, He really has. Sometimes, I think we bypass all the little blessings we have everyday. Like this morning, I woke up and had hot water for a shower and clothes on my back. I think so often we have these kinds of blessings everyday that we get so used them and we forget to thank God for them. There are people all over the world that have no idea what it is like to have a hot shower. So I feel very blessed that I can. Lately, it has been really hard for to do my devotionals and mostly because I feel so exhausted because of the pregnancy that I try and get as much sleep as possible. After the move, we will have more time to sleep in because we will be closer to work... so I am determined to continue these devotions after the move.

13 weeks

Today marks the beginning of my 13th week and I have my next Dr's appt next Monday. All my labs came back normal which is good, the only thing that was kind of wierd was that they told me I have to re-do my HIV testing because they said it was incomplete... whatever that means! This week is also pretty crazy for us because we are picking up our keys tomorrow for the apartment and also having to move in the bed and the refrigerator at the bare minimum so we can live there. What's even worse is we have to do this all after work! Yikes, well I guess it's better than having to pay for another month's rent. So anyway, yesterday at work was more than crazy and I about cried twice... not sure if this was the hormones or if I actually was stressed or come to think about it I was probably just hungry because I wasn't able to snack like usual because I was so busy. We have tried to keep our refrigerator empty so that we don't have to move as much food as well. Other than that, I think it is kind of hard clothing wise because I can't fit into any maternity clothes and am barely fitting into my regular clothes so... we will just have to see how much longer I can wear these clothes :)

How do you treat your "friends"?

This questions popped into my head the other day as a situation had come up and it made me think. How do you treat your friends? Do you treat them with disrespect with disdain? Do you call them names and treat them in a verifiable crappy manner? When you're done hanging out with them, do you generally feel worse then before you hung out with them? Do they not even show the littlest amount of civility of decency when they're mad at you? Do they belittle your existence?

To me, friends should never make you feel any of those things that I mentioned above. When you hang out with friends, they should make you feel better not worse. They should never talk to you in a manner that is disrespectful for no reason. And if they do any of those things, are they really truly a friend?

friend /frɛnd/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronuncia[frend]- noun

1.	a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.

2.	a person who gives assistance; patron; supporter

3.	a person who is on good terms with another; a person who is not hostile

I think friends should build each other up, not tear each other down. Should never talk to each other in a manner that belittles their existence. A friend should be supportive in your life and be there for you when they need them. Someone who is on "good terms with another". Jesus gives us the perfect example of what a friend should be, humble, honest (but not hurtful), kind, gentle, wise, gracious, merciful, forgiving, supportive... and the list can go on and on. When a moment arises that you should have a reason to be mad at one another yelling and cursing is not acceptable behavior for friends. They should be able to talk it out without the violence and hostility. No friendship is perfect and you are going to have moments when you are going to be mad. And even if you're not wrong, sometimes we still apologize, swallow our pride, so that we can get past this point because you know that the other person may not apologize. There comes a point when we have to be mature, and that is all that I expect from any of my friends when they get mad at me. A level of civility and decency because that is what we all deserve from our friends.

RV sold?

We have done some advertising for our 5th wheel to get sold. We put a nice little "For Sale" sign out in front of our space so in case anyone in the park wanted to buy it. We are only asking $14,000 and it's a pretty good buy for that amount and considering I took immaculate care of everything in it. Today, we got our first bite and surprisingly enough it wasn't from the $45 ad I placed in RV Trader or the free ad in Craig's List. Funny enough, the bite came from our cute little home made "For Sale" sign outside. The guy came out to look at the RV for his mother and really liked it and I think he was going to pay cash... WOW! Anyway, seems like a good thing and could be an answer to our prayers to have this 5th wheel sold before we move. The great thing about having someone buy it within is we can easily move the space over to the new owner instead of being put on the 1 year waiting list just to get into the park. Keep your prayers on this as we hope that this buyer goes through so we can have everything taken care of.

This week has been extremely tiring, I stayed home from work on Tuesday not because of morning sickness (because I haven't had any) but because I mostly just felt like crap when I woke up. My boss even said my coloring wasn't good on Monday, so I called out sick and went back to sleep and didn't wake up again until 10am. I got something to eat, got ready and headed to my Dad's for the day since we had Bible study there that night anyway and pretty much just slept the rest of the afternoon. Some much needed rest, I am telling you. I think there is just too much going on with my body right now and just needed some rest. I felt much better today, other than the fact that I had to catch up on paperwork when I came back to work today. Can't wait for the weekend... YEEEEAH for packing :) So far so good, things are cleaning up nicely and I can actually see underneath my bed which hasn't happened for storage reasons since we moved in. Very exciting!!!!

Supporting our troops!

Today, I went to my Dad's before Bible study and he had some signs he was in the process of making so he could go and stand out on a busy intersection. One sign stated this "Shame on you Congress, Support our troops!" and one of the other ones said "Here we go again, just like Vietnam!" Now, we are not big ware advocates in my family, but my Dad is a former Marine who did fight in Vietnam and survived even after a mortar blew up within arms length of him. I am not trying to make my Dad seem like some huge war hero, but in my eyes he is because he served his country. No one can tell him his fight wasn't worth it, because only he decides that.

My dad feels very strongly that Congress is making a mistake much like Vietnam in pulling funding from our troops while they are still in Iraq. Why is this bad? Well, if you pull funding they can't buy bullets. My point is this, stand where you are going to stand... but if Congress doesn't agree with the war then pull the troops out. Don't just pull their funding and leave them there with nothing to fight with. Congress right now is working on pulling the funding from our troops. and I have to say that my Dad will probably be one of those people that you would normally look at while you're driving and you see him sitting there and you say to yourself "What a nut!" With my Dad, I support our troops!

I leave you with this thought, this was a quote that I took from the movie "Tears of the sun" but I have forever kept in my mind:
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing"

Happy Valentine's Day!

Normally, I look at Valentine's Day a reason for marketer's to make us feel bad when we don't do something extravagant for our loved ones. And I don't need 1 day out of the year to tell my husband how much he means to me and how much I am truly in love with him.
This year, we did do something for each other nothing too extravagant or anything but I bought Andrew the GPS he wanted for hiking and Andrew bought me a very nice leather case for my phone that I have been desperately needing.
Andrew is so patient with me and he makes me laugh every chance he gets. He recognizes that sometimes with men it takes a tragedy to realize how much their spouse or loved one means or meant to them but that He didn't want to be one of those men... He is always so thoughtful and romantic. Even through all of his goofiness, He has become even better than the man I could have ever asked for.
Today, since Love is in the air I think about the Love that Christ has for me even now. How deep and how wide His love spreads over my life. It is not a day to be selfish but a day to be thankful to the 2 things in my life that totally complete me. Our God's Love is EXTRAVAGANT, forgiving, extraordinary, unfathomable, and so deep we'll never hit the bottom. So, I take today to say I Love you to my Father in heaven and also to my wonderful and patient Husband.

I leave you with these verses:
Ephesians (3:16) I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, (3:17) so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, (3:18) may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, (3:19) and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.


Happy Valentine's Day to you all!!!

How God is working

I guess I thought that I would title this blog this because of all the stuff that has been going on lately. We have 2 more weeks in our little 5th wheel and we have been working on trying to pack what we can until we actually move. Everything is all set to go on the apartment just have to wait for the keys, which we should be able to pick up March 1st. I am so excited about being able to be in Riverside now, and having a regular size kitchen so I can actually bake and cook the way I want to. Seems like such a silly thing to be excited about but still very excited about that.

The blessings so far with this move have been abundant, we did end up receiving a very nice green Lazy boy couch, a headboard, footboard, 2 nightstands, and coffee table all for FREE! That's right all for the low- low price of nothing. All nice furniture that we thought we would have to buy, but it turns out that God has his GREAT ways of providing for us.

We did, however, buy a comforter and we still have to buy a crib. So, we did find some very nice cribs through IKEA for a pretty low price and I was reading a magazine and they rated the IKEA cribs pretty high. I do want to go down and take a look at them before we purchase anything of course... and we do have to measure to make sure it would be able to fit.

Ode to tax season!!! It's that time of year again where we either have to pay or get something back. We have been pretty fortunate that Andrew's Dad just happens to do bookkeeping and taxes for a living. Looks like we will be getting a return once again this year... Just another great blessing.

Work has been good but also pretty hard since I have been really tired, my co-workers were all very excited when I told them about me being pregnant. I was a little bit worred at first because I didn't know how they were all going to react. Seems like everything worked out great. One of the other department's had a Admin Asst III position just open and the VP was trying to convince me that He wanted me to work for him. But his office is in Moreno Valley and although it would pay more, I really don't know what our plans will be after the baby is born. Today, his manager came to my desk and asked me how I liked working in the HR department and I told him I loved it. He said, okay just checking because you know of the Admin Asst III position open. I told him I was aware of this. I have no intentions of leaving the current department I am in just because of money and my bosses are so great and so accommodating. So funny, cracked me up!!

Our current plans for the next two weeks is pack into boxes the things we are not using so that we can get ready to move, also I placed an ad on Craig's List for our 5th wheel since we have not had a buyer yet for it. Keep in prayer that we would be able to sell it before we move in, I know 2 weeks doesn't seem like a lot of time but Man! That would be awesome!!!

How Amazing!!!

Today I had my first appointment with the Dr and of course they had to run a few tests to make sure my protein was at a good level so that they knew my kidneys were working and checked my sugar to make sure I wasn't diabetic. All passed with flying colors. I did not have to have a full examination like I had previously thought. She asked me a whole run of questions about Andrew and I family health history and asked me if I had any questions for her. Which I just had a couple, she is such an attentive Dr. When I asked her a question she was soooo nice. I really am going to like her for my Dr and to deliver the baby. I had blood work ran to look for any other possible diseases like cystic fibrosis also. Then... (drumroll) please..... the Dr said everything so far was looking very good and that I have less than a 2% chance of a miscarriage because she saw the baby's heartbeat so that is such a relief. I had a ultrasound done... so you see the picture of our little tiny baby and what looks to be the beginning of hands and feet. Man, it was so amazing watching the ultrasound. I showed Andrew the ultrasound picture too and it was pretty emotional for both of us- it's really awesome to think that we are going to have a baby. Such a special moment for us both.



Also here is a picture of a cute little piggy bank that Jeff and Sheryl gave to us as a gift. It is the most darling little thing. Awww.

Shocker today!

My very own husband who said He didn't want to hold anyone else's baby but
his own because he didn't want to "break it" if it wasn't his. Here is a
picture of Andrew holding Chris and Stephanie's baby Matthew. A small
revelation of what he will look like holding our own baby sometime. How
cute!!!!

Moving update

Friday, we turned in our deposit and they gave us all the information to
get our electricity turned on and if we wanted cable. We are going to be
unit G02!!! Now we are just kind of waiting until our unit has been
finished with the remodeling and then we should be moving in early March.
We get our first month free, so we are very excited.
Now, we have another task. We have to find a buyer for our 5th wheel, we
thought we had someone that was going to buy it but that might have fallen
through. We are going to be working on advertising with RV trader,
Craiglist, and Pennysaver to hopefully have a buyer for it. We want to sell
it before we move in preferrably.
This is the picture of the couch we are going to buy. It only cost us
$300!!! Plus, we should be getting a refrigerator from Jake. Looks like
everything is coming together slowly. God has been really good to us :)

Love letters to my Baby

A co- worker of Andrew's bought me this cute little book and it's so cute,
here is a little excerpt from the book:

"Just imagine- the Creator of the entire universe, the one who made the
heavens and earth, the originator of all living things, is personally
creating your unborn child. That's right. The same God who hangs the stars
in the night skies and balance the clods is at work this very moment on His
latest masterpiece- your precious baby! He is weaving together all her
teeny, tiny, intricate parts. He hears every beat of her heart. He has
already felt the brush of her eyelashes. He has put her hairs in place and
knows where her ticklish spots are. Your baby is being handmade by God.
When He knits, God doesn't make mistakes. He neither misses nor adds an
extra stitch. Before your baby can even do or say anything on her own, she
is perfect, one- of - a kind original. She bears God's brand name and has
incomparable value because of her Creator. Nothing can ever diminish her
worth. Tell Baby how special you think she is and what knowing that she is
being handmade by God means to you."

Roast Beef sandwich

Today for lunch I had made a roast beef sandwich with provolone cheese and
when I made it this morning I was like all excited about it. When I went to
lunch today and went to eat it, I absolutely could not handle the smell of
roast beef. I had heard stories of women's food aversions and up until
today I didn't know what they were talking about because I was like "Food
is good!" I think this was the first food aversion I have had so far, I
still ate the sandwich because it tasted good but I had to like plug my
nose because I couldn't stand the smell. Peeewweeey!!! Man, that has to be
one of the wierdest things so far!!!
Gotta love being pregnant, but if food aversions is the worst thing I have
to deal with over morning sickness I will take the food aversions anyday :)

Misc stuff

This weekend I ended up sleeping until 9:30am (which I almost never do)...
I guess I must have been really tired!!! Got up and put all our laundry
away, as I am doing this I was appreciating the fact that we will have an
actual closet in about a month from now. I loved our little 5th wheel and I
think we'll laugh at it someday that we lived in it for almost 2 years.

So, all we almost set to go on the apartment, we just have to turn in our
last 2 paystubs and as far as I know we should be all cleared to move in
March 1st. We are so excited to be making this move, it's going to be
different and exciting and closer to work for both of us.

I have made a decision to go shopping for items for the house without
Andrew just because when I go shopping I look at everything and like to
take my time and he is a very In and out kind of shopper. We have a lot of
things we just never bought because we didn't need them. One great thing
is- Andrew's best friend Jake is giving us the refrigerator we needed so
now we don't have to go out and buy one.

According to my little pregnancy tracker I am now 9 weeks pregnant with 1
more week to go til I am able to see the dr for my first check up. Man,
why does it take so long?

Chevy Volt

The lithium-ion battery in the Volt can be fully charged by plugging it
into a 110-volt outlet for approximately six hours per day. When it is
fully charged, the Volt offers a driving range of 40 miles. To increase the
useful range of the Volt, it includes a 1.0-liter 3-cylinder turbocharged
engine that operates at a constant speed to create electricity and charge
the battery. The engine is designed to run on E85 fuel, which is a blend of
85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. The engine does not power the
vehicle, it is only used to produce electricity to recharge the battery and
only the electric motor powers the vehicle

Not much to see

This picture is the beginning of the "Belly Pictures" as everyone calls them, so I can mark the growth of my stomach. As of right now, there isn't anything to see as I feel like I have only gotten chubby because my clothes are beginning to feel a little tight now. This is a picture of me at 8 weeks:

I have my Dr's appointment Friday, Feb 9th. Why do doctor's like to wait until you are almost 10 weeks before they see you for your first appointment. A lot of doctor's prefer to do that, I am not sure why though.


** Update: Last night we turned in our paperwork for the apartment, so we have our unit held for us now until we get all the credit and background portion done for the manager. Once we get the approval, we will need to just give her the security deposit. So, it looks like we will be moving in March to an apartment.

Our possible new home?

Today was good, I took Andrew with me to look at the apartment complex that I thought was decently priced. They are called the Canyon Crest Village Apartments, they are a little older but they have remodeled a lot of the units with new cabinets in the kitchen and granite counter tops. Andrew liked them and so did I. Reason why I liked them the best:

1) The complex is gated and has security guards on site at night. This complex is a member of the Riverside crime-free multi-housing which means that Police units come though occasionally and make sure that everything is safe and no one suspicious is wandering around.
2) It is close to shopping, but not so close that people would be wandering around in our area.
3) They are in the process of building a brand new park right across the street.
4) Our unit would be newly remodeled, so almost everything would be new (to us anyway).


So this apartment may be a new little home, We are still in prayer to make sure this is what we are supposed to do.
Anyway, here are some pictures of the complex that I found online:

Apartment Hunting

Andrew went hiking this morning with a new friend Caleb. Becca, a friend
of mine, and I decided we were going to do some apartment hunting in
Riverside while our husbands were gone and bring some flyers home and
pricing. I think we did pretty good- some places were up to $1000 but we
humored them and did a walk through of the apartments. Some were soooo
awesome but totally beyond what we would want to pay.

There were 2 that we both really liked: priced at $735/month with some
utilities included and the other one we looked at was a little older but
SOOOO cute looking and it was in Canyon Crest with this older lady as the
manager (she was so cute) . A 1 bedroom was $635 and a 2 bedroom was $680-
the catch is this... The apartments are on a month to month basis and so we
would have to call every month to see when and if they had openings.

I also have 1 more lead on an apartment complex but when we went to the
manager's office they were gone for the weekend to Disneyland. I am going
to call them on Monday to get some information and pricing. I just pray
that God would open the door for us :)

Chocolate- why???

I thought I have been eating pretty good and being careful to stay away
from the obvious things like caffeine, smoking, etc. Until I found
yesterday that I am supposed to limit the amount of chocolate I eat because
caffeine is found in Chocolate. Why chocolate? I have to stay away from
chocolate, I am so bummed that I found this out because right now Chocolate
just tastes so good! Kind of a bummer, they said I can have 300 mg of
caffeine and that is safe- I am working on calculations to how much
chocolate equals 300mg... Ha ha. I will try to stay away from it. Darn!

American Idol- my 2 favorites so far

So, we started up again with the American Idol season 6 and these are now my 2 favorites so far since th auditions. I make predictions that both of these candidates will do really well!!!


This guy was awesome because he quit his job in Oregon, and slept behind a dumpster the night before the auditions. Whoa!







Jordin Sparks, so far was my all time favorite, she has a such a wonderful voice and so young only 16 years old. Simon, just couldn't give her a good compliment- could he?

7th week and other stuff

Now starting my 7th week and still feeling pretty good. I am tired, as to
be expected, have a moment or two where I feel gross but not sick to my
stomach. I plan on being good and taking pictures once a month so I can
see the progress of the growth so I can later use it for a scrapbook. I
still don't think I will feel pregnant until I get the belly thing going.

Sunday, my church announced my pregnancy and a lot of the women in the
church came up and congratulated me and started asking me questions about
how I feel and their stories. It was pretty funny!

Andrew is still in Mexico until tomorrow on his missions trip and then when
he gets back we will take a look at the budget again and decide what it is
we can afford to do for living arrangements. Once I get pretty big it's
going to be hard for me to manuever around the RV let alone take a shower
in our little shower. Yikes! We will be looking at all of our options:
Apartments, a bigger RV, or another option (... I don't know, God opening a
door- whatever that may be). I just keep praying for God to give us a clear
picture of what it is He wants is to do. I don't want to do anything
outside of God's will for us. More space for living would be great, but I
am just waiting on the Lord and his plans. Keep us in your prayers.

Snowing in Riverside!!!!

I woke up to the sight of light snowing in Riverside. I have lived here my
while life and never seen it snow. And here it is snowing. How cute!!!!

Having a baby?

We just recently found out that Andrew & I are going to have a BABY!!!! A baby!!!!! I am about 6 weeks pregnant and supposedly due September 3rd. It's very wierd having everyone Congratulate me, and it still feels surreal to me because I still can't believe that this is happening. When Andrew found out, He said "I am going to be a Dad, Whoa!" I cried when I saw the positive pregnancy test and then I said...."breathe... breathe... breathe... you're going to be a mom!" So far I really haven't had any REALLY bad symptoms just really tired ALL day.

We are both very excited, very scared because we REALLY aren't prepared for this yet. We are just leaning on God right now that He is going to provide for us and take care of our needs. That doesn't mean that He is going to get us a house, but that we will have a roof over our head and food on the table and that is totally okay with me because it is God's will that I am seeking to fulfill. There have been a lot of thoughts going through our heads like are we going to stay where we are living? Am I going to quit working? How is this going to work? But I am also just trying to enjoy it all, If I took all the details right now I think I would be stressed out.

Just keep us in your prayers as we want to make sure to make the right decisions and that we can closely listen to what it is that God wants us to do.

Quick facts about bottle water

QUICK FACTS ON BOTTLED WATER VERSUS CLEANING UP THE DRINKING WATER SUPPLY
Reprinted from OneWorld US: us.oneworld.net)

-Members of the United Nations estimate that if the world took half of what
it currently spends on bottled water ($100 billion annually) and invested
it in water infrastructure and treatment, everyone in the world could have
access to clean drinking water.

-But bottled water is cleaner, right? Actually, the EPA sets more stringent
quality standards for tap water the FDA does for bottled beverages, and
roughly 40 percent of bottled water is actually just tap water.

-1.5 billion barrels of oil are consumed each year to produce the plastic
for water bottles, enough to fuel 100,000 cars.

-According to the Container Recycling Institute, only 14 percent of plastic
bottles are recycled.

-A water bottle in a landfill or lying around as litter will take over
1,000 years to biodegrade.

Today

Today has been a good day so far, we are housesitting right now in
Riverside and woke up to the sound of their doggies scratching at the doors
and I let them in and they were so excited to see us. Gave them breakfast,
got ready... We had made some plans to go over to my Grandma's to get some
videotape of her talking about her life. It was really nice, at first she
is asking why we wanted to do this but once I got her talking she was fine
on camera. Got some laughing moments and funny stories. I will post some of
the video once I get it uploaded.

A hard Christmas

This Christmas was a good Christmas, We went to my sister's apartment and decided to cook breakfast with French toast, bacon, and orange juice. Then we headed over to my Grandma's house to have a Christmas lunch with Turkey and all the good side dishes. We pulled out my Grandma's best China and crystal for the lunch, since my Grandma couldn't remember the last time she used them. You're reading this and wonder why I labeled this blog what I did. What has made this Christmas hard is that my grandma keeps saying this is going to be her last Christmas. We're waiting at the table for the food to come out, and my Grandma says "This is a sad Christmas, I don't know why but it just feels sad". So we go on our way with the lunch and have dessert. My Grandma never wanted us to "fight" over her stuff when she was gone so every time we come over we end up leaving with some things she has decided to give us. Even more so this Christmas, so I am left with these feelings like I am taking something that doesn't belong to me. We're sitting in the back room of the house and hugging my Grandma and she says "You know I've loved you since the moment you were born" and of course I start crying because she's talking like this. I told her how much I loved her too... And the conversation carried on with more talk that just made me cry harder. She wipes the tears from my face and says "I love you." In a way, she's checking out, meaning she's in her own way ready to go to her real Home.

Death is a part of the complete cycle of our lives, and it's not my fear of her dying that makes me cry. It's the feeling of not seeing her anymore, missing her spunky character and her back scratches. She's always been spunky, and that's what I have loved about her most. There's a lot of memories there from her. It's a hard Christmas because, partially, I don't know how to deal with these feelings. It was hard because I didn't want to think that this was going to be her last Christmas, I just wanted to enjoy being around her. We get in the car after leaving and I start crying again, Andrew says "Why do you have to make me cry?" So anyway, overall everybody was safe and we enjoyed each other's company so I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas..

Fearless

For Andrew's birthday gift he bought "Fearless" with Jet Li and we watched
it this morning as we just kinda lazed around. Pretty cool movie not just
for the action but also because there were a lot of good points in the
movie. The movie had subtitles bu once I got into the movie, I didn't
even realize that there were there still. One of my favorite was when the
half blinded grandaughter Yueci talks about the moment she knew she was not
going to be able to see and her grandmother says something like "It's okay
to be sad and cry for a little while... And after you cry, you have to live
life."

I thought that was cool, there is a time and a season for everything. So
when life hits hard, it's okay to be sad for a little bit but then we have
to move on and live life the way it has been given to us.

Christmas portrait session

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Why Persevere?

To persevere means "to persist in a state, enterprise,or undertaking in
spite of Counterinfluences, opposition, or discouragement." The Dictionary
of Biblical Imagery says that "perseverance is rooted in confidence in the
Lord. It is produced by siffering (Romans 5:3 , James 1:3) and produces
character, 'so that (we) may be mature and complete, not lacking anything'
(James 1:4, Romans 5:4).

Let's face it right up front: Suffering is associated with the development
of perseverance. As we understand better scripture teaches about the
spiritual benefits of perseverance, we can look to the future with hope
instead of fear. There are 3 specific reasons for our suffering:

1) Suffering is God's means of perfecting us.
2) Suffering is a means of spreading the Gospel.
3) In persevering through suffering we see God.

January 19th

Today Andrew turned 26!!!! Yikes man, He said 26 and was like blown away still. We were talking in the car the other night and at one point I think Andrew said, "I mean you're only 21"... ha ha... and I said "No, Honey I am 23... He says No you're 21... I said no I was born in 1983 that means I am 23." Andrew says, "... but we just got married"... I said "Honey, we are getting near to 2 years of marriage."

Time flies pretty fast around here. So 26 years ago, Andrew was born literally kicking and screaming (ha ha). Tonight we got word that a friend of ours, Stephanie, has gone into labor with her baby boy, so we went to the hospital to visit her. Stephanie, you are so awesome. She is progressing nicely and nearing her 5cm and still has not had a any pain meds at all. Go Lamaze classes, and Go Stephanie!!! You will forever be my hero if you go all the way through the delivery without any pain meds. After that we went to Borders to pick out a book for Andrew. Of course, I went to the photography section and started thumbing through some books but none really caught my eye. And now, we are home just hanging out and hoping to go to sleep EARLY tonight!

I am so looking forward to what God is going to show us in the future. We are, literally, on the edge of our seats just waiting for what God is going to tell us. We really have no idea what God is going to give to us.

We have a lot of things that "could" come our way as far as housing. We typically, make too much money to get help from the county of Riverside to buy our first home and yet we don't make enough to float a house payment on our own. So... what does this really mean? Does it mean that what all the real estate experts keep saying might actually happen? The bubble will burst and once again make it possible for youngins like us to buy a house? Or is it all just wishful thinking? We will see, if you read my previous blog about what $269,000 would get us then you know exactly what I am talking about.

Anyway, keep us in your prayers for guidance for decisions. We are at a crossroads right now as we are just waiting for a single word from God about what we are supposed to be doing.

Mary

Can you imagine giving birth to the Son of God? I imagine you would be
holding the little baby Jesus and just crying... I mean think of the weight
that would have been on Mary's mind. I would be crying just because God had
placed such responsibility, think of little baby Jesus in your arms. Did
Jesus know even as a baby that He was the Savior? Did he remember the world
being created even as a baby?

Would she be extra cautious or worry about hurting him as a child or
toddler? I could only imagine... What if God was thinking you were raising
Him wrong, could she raise Him wrong? Gosh I know I would be scared...I
guess that's why God had chosen her because He knew she could have handled
it all. I would a nervous mess, all the time!!

What a miracle... I think we pass by the story of Jesus birth and just
think yeah I have heard it a millon times. But think about it, a young
woman was told my an ANGEL that she was going to be with child, without
ever being with anyone... Geesh, whoever thinks that God does not have
power needs to re-think this story. He was able to create the Savior inside
a young woman who was a virgin. This totally amazes me- If that was me I
would be like- HOW???

God works miracles everyday in our lives, the trick is to First, recognize
them and Second, be thankful to God for them! Thank you Lord for your
miracles and blessings everyday in our lives!! You are so awesome and
amazing and give you praise for providing for us.

Spekulatius Party

Yesterday, we were invited to come to the "Spek Party" from a friend. And we were like that sounds pretty cool, Each year this family holds one of these parties. A Spekulatius is a german cookie, a pretty traditional spice/sugar cookie (we couldn't decide which once it tasted more like). Anyway, they make HUGE batches of this dough and I think they said they use like 6 lbs of flour for the batter. It is supposed to make enough for everyone who attends to take some home. How they get the cookies in a very cool design is unlike I have ever heard. In Germany they would cut very intricate designs into long pieces of wood with maybe 12 different designs on this one piece of wood. Then, they would smoosh the dough into the designs and then you would have to proceed to turn the piece of wood upside down and smack it against a hard surface to get the dough out of the cutter without ruining the design. Very cool, we were invited to go ahead and try this ourselves so here is the video of me making a Spekulatius cookie. It was so cool because this whole family would get together every year and make these cookies, something they have passed down from generation to generation. I would love to be able to pass along something like that to my family...If I had something like that to pass along :)

This is what $269,000 would get us:

Seriously the market has been dropping little by little but... OH MY GOSH. Can you believe that we would be paying like $1400/month for a 580 Sq ft house. I can't even fathom at this point paying like $1000/month on a mortgage for a house because even that would be WAY beyond our budget. Sheesh! Praise report though, Andrew got a $1.25/hour raise at his full time job. Has now been with the same company for 7 years going on 8, crazy! Anyway can you believe this property:

An unconsious effort

How would life be different if helping people was an unconsious effort?
Maybe people wouldn't stuck on the side of the road without any help.
Someone would always stop on the side of the road and ask if they needed
help.
Maybe those homeless people wouldn't be sleeping on the park benches, they
would be in a mission or inside our home being fed and clothed.
Maybe those orphaned children wouldn't be without parents, they would be
adopted and loved and not left to emotional distress because of life's
circumstances.
If helping people was similar to breathing then it would become second
nature to us. We wouldn't ignore the man standing on the side of the
freeway. We wouldn't tell that homeless man we have no money when we really
do. We wouldn't ignore the worldwide hunger.

Hardwood floors pics

These are 2 pictures I took from my phone of my Dad's awesome looking
hardwood floors. The pictures don't look like much but they look so
beautiful.

Hardwood floors

The house I grew up in, my Dad still currently lives in and the house has
always had hardwood floors underneath the carpets. He has been wanting to
rip up the carpets for a long time because, hardwood floors (and real ones)
look beautiful, and my Dad agrees that it will be better for allergies. So,
today he ripped up all the carpets and told me how beautiful they look and
how different it will be when you come in. I am so excited to see this!! I
will have to take pictures and post them once I stop by there.

So cute!

Okay, so the other night we were in the Anne Geddes store at Downtown Disney and we saw this baby collection. And I couldn't help but think how cute it would be with our last name being Holybee to have this Bee collection or decorate the babies room in bee's. This is just so darling!!!

Christmas at Downtown Disney

Went to Downtown Disney tonight and on our way out it started raining... We
went into the Anne Geddes store hoping to find a little santa outfit for
Briana's baby but had no luck. Although I did find a little Bee themed
onesie and I thought how cute it would be when we have babies to have Bee
themed baby room! We are headed home now and it is raining a little bit so
yeah the winter season has started.

Lately

Andrew and I have been discussing what we are going to do like with where
we are living. Are we going to live a very humble life? With this humble
life we would be sacrificing a lot things in our life so that we could help
others around us that are in more need. Means in a lot of ways giving up
the idea of ever owning a home. We want to live humbly for sure, to what
extent are we called to live like this?
We would just love some answers as to what direction God is leading us, are
we supposed to be church planters? Are we supposed to buy a house? Should
we buy a bigger rv? Even just a little hint as to what direction we should
take. We think we are getting taken a direction and then something happens
to confuse us again. I know it's just a season but sometimes you just want
answers. I pray every morning just holding onto the hope that God will
reveal to me just a little more about what direction to take. I mean just a
peek into where to go would be so helpful.

We've never thought that we would be ones that ever moved out of California
and now we just keep leaving every door open because if we need to move
then I know that God has his hand in it. Oh Lord, why do you make me wait
for your words? I feel like a little child looking up at her Daddy just
waiting for Him to bend down and whisper his desires for me in my ear to
me. So, here we are just waiting for Him.

James Riley pictures

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Thoughts for today

Ever just have one of those days you feel like no matter what you do, you
just can't seem to get it right? I feel like a horrible person today, seems
like whatever I touch seems to go to crap. I know... It's just a season.
Trust God and he will work everything else out. I know all of the things
that people will say to try and make me feel better but it is so hard to
see what I am doing right at this moment. I want to cry but I can't since I
am at work. Life has been pretty stressful right now, with work opening the
new building and ministry, and all the other life stuff. I feel like I am
living outside my own body... Like I am watching my own life happen instead
of living it. I don't know how else to explain it. I know that God has a
plan for our marriage and our life plans and living situation, but I feel
so blind right now. I feel like I can't see more than what is directly in
front of me. Some people have visions of what their life will be like and
it happens... Not us! We seem to live in such abnormal circumstances, and
sometimes I just want to decorate my own house and paint my own walls, pick
out my own furniture but we can't. Ahhh, too many thoughts and it's driving
me nuts!

My new little nephew

Born Dec 4th 12:00 in the afternoon, weighing 6lbs 4oz, 19.5 inches long.
Yeah! How cute!

End of the world

I hear so many opposite opinions from people in general about starting a
family:

Some say... You should travel and accomplish more things before you start
having babies and a family. You'll never be young again in your life so do
everything you want to before you have babies.

Opposite side... Says having babies is the most accomplishing thing you can
do with your life. Don't worry about having money because God will provide
for you. Who says you can't travel with babies? You get to share all those
experiences as a family.

So where do I stand? Man... I think sometimes it would be great to wait til
we have a house and make more money, but what if we never have a house or
never make more money? I would be waiting forever before we start to have a
family. I want to share all those traveling experiences with my children,
and who says we can't do that even when they are small.
Why is it that some people view having a family as the end of the world?
Like you will be so strapped down if you have a family?
See, that person that says we should accomplish more is the same person
that will end up waiting til it is too late to have children. I once heard
someone say that if you wait til you are financially stable to have
children you never will.

I don't think having a baby is the end of the world, but yet another
chapter of your life that will bring good things too. I refuse to believe
that having a baby can be a negative thing.

Malachi 3:3

"He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this
statement meant about the character and nature of God.

One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get
back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch
him at work.

She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her
curiosity about the process of refining Silver.

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and
let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold
the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to
burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought
again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of
silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there
in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.

The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver,
but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the
fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be
destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment.

Then she asked the silversmith,

"How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"

He smiled at her and answered,

"Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it."

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire , remember that God has his
eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.
Someone needs to know that God is watching over them.

And, whatever they're going through, they'll be a better person in the end.

"Life is a coin.

You can spend it anyway you wish,
but you can only spend it once."

Rainy season

Yesterday marked the start of the rainy season, or so I think... Never can
tell with California. I love the rainy season, I always imagine me sitting
near a window looking out and contemplating my life. I usually don't keep
anything hidden, so here it goes:

The last 5 days have been filled with thought of overjoyment and
anxiousness... The reason why- I was 5 days late for my cycle. The last 5
days I have tried to keep my thoughts from going to the fact that I
actually thought that I could be pregnant and also my own thoughts of
wanting to start a family of our own. I cannot wait to have a baby and
start our own family and if this is what God had for us then I felt
blessed.
Yesterday confirmed that I was in fact- not pregnant. My cycle just decided
to be 5 days late for no apparent reason.
Andrew and I were ready to accept what was happening and were overjoyed but
we also kept it quiet what was going on with me because I didn't want to
jump the gun and tell people before I actually knew anything at all. So
what do we do with this little "incident"?
I am left with this overwhelming feeling that now, I really do want to have
a baby and sometime soon. We will wait patiently on the LORD for his will
and his timing. And as disappointing as it has been lately with all of
this, I still trusting in the LORD that his will be done.

Thank you Lord for your blessings and your trials.Thank you for teaching me
to trust you. I pray that we would all learn to truly trust you more and
even more depend on you to tell us what your desire to do.

Our first Christmas Tree

This may look really cheesy but it is our very first Christmas Tree and it
is fake with a little snow and some small ornaments and I plan on buying
some more little ones. But I was very excited about this little tree.
Someday Andrew and I and our little kids will be able to have a Christmas
Tree and decorate it together.

Rosales- Dawson 11-17-06

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This Christmas

I am forever changed by God laying such truths on my heart. After
convention, God has changed my heart in such a way that I want to help
others that have less than me. In all reality, some people consider where I
live and say huh? Even as little as Andrew and I have, we still have 50%
more than population of the world. The reality is I never have to wake up
wondering if I will have a roof over my head or food to eat. Instead of
wondering if I'll eat, I am wondering what I am going to eat. The reality
is that in the U.S., 300,000 people will die due to causes from over
consumption. The reality is that every day people are dying due to causes
from starvation.

This Christmas, I have a heavy heart of what God has laid on my heart. Why
should I give people more "stuff" to people that already have "stuff".
Shouldn't I be caring for the weak, the poor, the dying? Not that anyone I
know should feel offended because I do not give them a gift for
Christmas... Don't be offended be inspired to do something for someone
else who has less. I needed a push, but a friend of mine decided to make a
sacrifice and donate to Blood Water Mission (www. Bloodwatermission.com)
what she would have spent on gifts for Christmas. I had been thinking about
what I should do for Christmas for people, but when I heard this I knew
that God had been calling me to do the same. I am not donating because it
makes me feel good, but because if I am only able to affect one person by
my donations then at least I helped that one person. How could I ignore a
tug at the heart? I still imagine that child in India dying of starvation
and orphaned, the nun comforting the child, still hits me hard when I see
this.

If you feel so called, or have some time please check out Blood Water
Mission teaming up with Jars of Clay. Many children and adults die in 3rd
world countries because of the inability to get clean water. Blood Water
Mission is working to change this problem. Their website is :
www.BloodWaterMission.com.

My very first official wedding job

My very first official wedding job is today, I start taking photos at
2:30pm and the reception ends at 11pm. I am extremely nervous. So this
morning I went to 2 of the sites and practiced a little so I know what I am
in for. The picture site I hope turns out good, not a lot of colorful
vegetation. I have not seen the ceremony site yet so I am nervous about
that. The reception site will be wonderful, looks good on the inside and I
did a lot of practice shots with my flash in there so I am excited about
that portion. I am hoping that everything goes well.

Last night I bought the reflectors I needed for the outdoor pictures. Talia
will be "assistant " today holding the reflectors. I also bought some extra
memory, another 1 GB card because I know I will use my other one very
quickly. I am trying not to think about Murphy's law because I do not have
an extra camera. I brought extra batteries for my flash and also charged my
camera battery so I thinkin I am pretty much ready I am just a little
scared. Keep me in your prayers today.

Gary Thomas notes

We deserve to go to hell, and if we believe that... That anything better
than hell we should be thankful for. We say Lord, bless me more, increase
this more and then I will be thankful. When a day we see a sunset, or hear
our children laugh is an incredible blessing from God in itself.
So quickly we take for granted the little blessings that God gives us, that
we never have to wonder whether we will have food on our table but what
kind of food we will have on our table.
We becom spiritually sick when we tolerate God's blessings rather than be
thankful for them.
Why are we not weak at the knees at the blessings that God has given us?

Gary Thomas notes

We deserve to go to hell, and if we believe that... That anything better
than hell we should be thankful for. We say Lord, bless me more, increase
this more and then I will be thankful. When a day we see a sunset, or hear
our children laugh is an incredible blessing from God in itself.
So quickly we take for granted the little blessings that God gives us, that
we never have to wonder whether we will have food on our table but what
kind of food we will have on our table.
We becom spiritually sick when we tolerate God's blessings rather than be
thankful for them.
Why are we not weak at the knees at the blessings that God has given us?

Grey's Anatomy

Last night we watched Grey's Anatomy and I have decided I am pretty much
addicted to the show. We bought seasons 1 & 2 on DVD so we could watch
them. Andrew has to pull me away from watching them, but it is such a good
show! I just cannot believe Derek, I am like 6 episodes into the 2nd
season. Has anyone watching this also? There is only 1 other show that I am
like this with and that is LOST. I am waiting for 3rd season to be finish
before I watch either of those shows. I prefer to watch them on DVD because
of commercials, I hate commercials!!!

Upcoming photo jobs

So, this Friday is my wedding photo job coming up. I am going to be
practicing some techniques this week to try and get more familiar with my
flash. I am very excited and yet still very nervous as I want them to turn
out creative and good and everything the couple wanted. I charged a minimal
price for the job because I am still learning, but yikes!!!! I may possibly
have another wedding job on Dec 30th depending on some circumstances. So I
am HOPING it works out.
Also, I have 2 portrait sessions set up for Christmas photos. This will be
coming up in the next 3 weeks or so to get the photos out in time for
Christmas. I am going to check out some websites to host my pictures for my
clients but I am having a hard time finding one that isn't too expensive. I
checked out Pictage but they want too much money, and also collage.net but
I didn't like the layout. Anyone have any suggestions?

Final Session

Matthew Mauer as worship this morning. The theme of the convention was
"Reveal", so as a final activity there were mirrors placed all over the
arena with sharpie markers and what they told us to do was go to the mirror
and write a word that sums up what you have been taught at this convention.
And as you write the word, look at yourself in the reflection and decide if
this is what you will carry with you everyday. I wrote Humility...
Something that God has ever so confirmed to both Andrew and I that we will
live a humble life. Does that mean giving up a dream of owning our own
home? Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. What it does mean for me... To make
sure everything we buy is not for ourselves. Allowing God to use us in
ways we never though possible, by maybe staying in an RV so we can reach
those in our own trailer park. It's not ideal, but when was Jesus ever
given an ideal situation? We need to be like him more.

Speaker and President Mark Oeistreicher
Jesus touches the untouchables... We are the untouchables.
We are in CONSTANT need of a Savior.
Humility- the acknowledgement of our true selves

Steps to humility:
Reverence for God
Doing God's will
Obedience to Others
Enduring Affliction
Confession
Contentment

Family

Thoughts from Talia's bible study last night:

What does family mean to you?

This is a hard for me because I am close with my Dad and Mom, but as far as
siblings. I don't even know what it is like to have siblings that I am
close with... I have never had a close relationship with my siblings. The
closest thing I have to a close sibling is my cousin Nicole. I grew up in
what feels like a jacked up lifestyle, even though I never really it had it
that bad. I spent 1 week at my Dad's and 1 week at my Mom's and had a lot
of emotional trauma from them getting divorced. When I was growing up, I
was a very angry child, I was stressed at the age of 10. I spent years of
my life crying because I wanted my parents to get back together so I could
be a normal kid. I spent years of my life wondering who I am. When I got to
high school, I was searching for someone to understand me but no one ever
did. Being married to Andrew, he has taught me so much about family and
caring. My life is an open book... I never keep anything hidden from anyone
and I would never rightly hide an answer from someone who asked me a
question. Andrew has taught me that there should never be a part of your
life that you hide from people...

Is it hard for me to define what a family is? It is very hard for me... So
I guess I would define family as someone not purposely trying to hurt you,
caring for each other, looking out for each other, being honest.

I can't wait to have my own family, because I think then I will truly
understand what it is like to be a family and have that connection that I
missed growing up.

Anyway just my own thoughts, don't arrest me if your opinion differs!

Final thoughts on Session # 5

Shane Claiborne

Shouldn't we shutter at the name of Christ just like Lion
King.....Mufasa...oooooh say it again!
Jesus.... Ooooh say it again, Jesus!

Dr King said should we be"Extremists" for Love... Love people so much that
someone would call us an extremist. That we would stand out above all and
truly truly show Christ's love even to the least of these. To the homeless,
the dying, the poor. Let's be "Extremists" for Christ's Love.

General Session #5

Vicky Beeching did the worship this morning, Jars of Clay was the entertainment band this morning, song Dead Man is awesome live.

The speaker this morning brought me to tears, and I was overwhelmed. His name was Shane Claiborne, really funky guy who has dreads and was pretty funny. He was so awesome, he grew up in the back woods of Tennessee and thought one day there has to more to Christianity that this. He ended up the hardest parts of Philadelphia and lived like the homeless. You see, Jesus didn't have a home, nowhere to lay his head. He has shared everything that he has been given. He brings families in and gives them a hope for the future.

Shane also went to Calcutta, India and worked as an intern under Mother Theresa before she had passed away. He saw some of the most amazing sights, these Nuns were awesome in taking care of the dying. Mother Theresa never took the best of anything, when shoes came in she always picked the worst pair so that other would have better than her. So because of this, her feet were deformed.
Shane came this morning to speak, and with the money that he would have been paid for coming there to speak he received in all $1 bills. He literally wrote "LOVE" on each bill and had prayed over the money. What he did, blows me away!!! He took those $1 bills and had them spread all over the alter in front of where he was speaking. He asked everyone to come down and take $1 bill and promise that if you take it that you are making a commitment to serve and to help those that are in need. I am amazed at this man, he only receives money to take care of his daily needs which is $150 a month.
What really got me this morning was the video of a Nun in Calcutta who has caring for a boy who was dying and in this video she is stroking him to try and help him feel better and as I am crying and overwhelmed by the need in the world for our help. We are gluttons! Over 300,000 people this year have died, and these deaths all could have been prevented in they didn't over consume. I was sitting there crying overwhelmed by how much we have and so little others do. So what does it mean to live a humble life to you? What does it mean... when other countries suffer from starvation and AIDS when we sit in our comfy homes and watch TV? This message was over powering, and to see a man like this... WOW! Christ does do miracles, and he is waiting for us to REVEAL Him so that he can do His work.

We went through the One Life Experience, where you do a walk through of what it is like to live in a country in Africa, after the speech and going through the One Life Experience... We sponsored a little girl from Tanzania named Rehema Seif Omary. For only $32 a month through Compassion International. I know it's not much but I hope that it helps! I encourage anyone if you have enough to buy Starbucks more than a couple of times a month, than you can afford this also. We don't have much, but what God has given us we always try and use for others. Could we buy a house with that $32 a month, maybe... but how much more would it mean that we are helping someone else who does not have hardly anything at all. Think about it, and if you want to sponsor a child, please visit: www.Compassion.com.

General Session #4

Last night was pretty awesome once again, I Love David Crowder Band they really rock the house. They even did some old hymnals but with a rock tune so I was loving it. At one point he had all of us in the audience put our arms around each other and jump to the beat of the hymnal, I looked out on the audience and we were all moving together literally like the ocean. Everyone was very grateful for David Crowder Band to be there, on a side note I really LOVE his violinist. They will not be here today for the worship portion because they took a red eye last night to make it back to their home church for worship Sunday morning. Gotta love their dedication to their own church. I have added a few pictures I was able to take with my camera of David Crowder Band and Shaun Groves which by the way I love also. He has a real heart for people in ministry, also if you notice he actually left a comment on one of my previous blogs. Jars of Clay will be here for the rest of the weekend, pretty cool!

The speaker last night was Mike Pilavachi, he was pretty awesome. He was speaking at Spirit West Coast this last year. He is a British speaker, and had a lot to say. He was talking about he came to SWC last year thinking he was somebody because they had asked him to come and there would be 30, 000 people there. When he got up there, he choked and people left in huge herds... It was then he realize that he was nothing not even a little bit of something. How many of us, have someone give us compliments and we take it to our heads and think that we are something? He also talked about, how someone had told him you need to only speak at engagements that had 1000 people or more. But after SWC, he realized that Jesus never went to the thousands of people... in most of his stories he tried to stay away from the crowds and went out the save the "one". The one lost sheep that has gone astray, He wants to save the one. Like the woman at the well, or the man in the cemetery and called himself "legion".

Day 4

We woke up at 9:30am this morning, got ready and went to the General Session #3, did some more worship with David Crowder Band (and by the way sounds the same in person and on the Cd, so he must be an awesome artist) also had a speaker named Matthew Barnett..

He's a Senior Pastor in his later 20's at a church, LA Dream Center, from the inner-city of LA. He is taking inner-city LA by storm, he is a white- boy from Scottsdale, AZ that was asked by his Father, after 10 candidates had turned down this position, to be a Senior Pastor. Matthew took the position, moved from everything he knew to LA, his congregation went from 80 to a congregation on 2 in a matter of 6 months. One day, while weeping in his apartment in LA, prayed to the Lord... How can I be successful? The Lord spoke to him and told him to go to Echo Park, at midnight, no less... he thought sheesh God must be punishing me for wanting to be successful so he's sending me there to my death. Anyone familiar with how dangerous Echo Park is?

God spoke to him that night in the middle of Echo park and told him, I want you to throw away any desires you have of wanting to be successful. I want you to look around you, understand that this is your mission field. The gang's, the pimps, the prostitutes, and the drug dealers. When he set aside all of his desires to be successful, at the age of 22 now, his congregation grew from 2 to 700 in 6 months. He's converted gangsters, pimps and and prostitutes. They would go out to areas of LA that no one would want to touch, and give prostitutes a place to be able to run away. LA dream center had purchased 16 homes, and drug dealers, pimps, prostitutes could come here, live, and it would give them an option to be able to turn their life around.

He once brought this girl in from prostitution, grew up in foster homes her whole life. They had a van, smuggled her in there, meanwhile her pimp is chasing them down the street. Who is waiting at the church, but the gangster's, drug dealers, and pimps who had been converted waiting at the gates to scare off the pimp chasing after that girl. When Matthew had a chance to talk to her, she told him her story. She had been prostituting and she got pregnant and everyone told her that she could not keep it and continue in this business. She decided to keep the baby because she thought that this baby would somehow bring her dignity and that it would motivate her to want to change her life. Her pimp came in one day and told her to get to work, and she told him No. While holding her baby the pimp had shot her baby with a gun killing it, and then used a curling iron to ensure that she would never be able to have children again. LA Dream Center brought her in, changed her and now she is going out to those places she once worked to convert pimps and prostitutes. To even further this she had been talking to these 3 pimps in a donut shop for some time, so they told her because she had been so persistent that they would go to church with her just once. And in the back of the church stood 6 or 7 pimps she had brought in, that day all of them had confessed Jesus as Lord.

Another story, Matthew came into the church one day and noticed that a young gang boy had been killed just outside his church. And Matthew said, we've got to do something. The ex-gang members told him, that's not how it works out here... you need to just leave it alone. Matthew continued and said, I am going to do something about this. So they got together $28 to give to the young boy's family. We went across the street to the apartment of the family and knocked on the door, opening the door was the biggest, most tatooed gang member he had ever seen. He asked him what he wanted, well we got together $28 to try and help with the loss of the young boy and to pray for the mother. So he gave them the money and tried getting out of there as soon as possible. And as he walks away, he felt an arm grab him and said can you come in a pray for our whole family? Matthew went in, and had several gang members and the mother. So, he started praying, but nothing so he continued praying bolder and nothing. He prayed even bolder, and he felt the gang members hands tighten with him and he prayed bolder and he felt their arms raise above his head and when he had opened his eyes they were all crying. So, he ministered to them and was able to bring them all to Christ that night. Had he done nothing because of fear, these people may never have come to Christ.

This may be an extreme case, but how many times have we been to scared to do anything or go somewhere out of fear? I admire Matthew Barnett, not because he's saving lives... but because he's not afraid to go out into the scariest place and try and reach people. We will be purchasing the DVD of his speaking from today because it empowered us so much that if this white boy can go to the inner city of LA, then maybe there is somewhere that God has called us to be that we could have been scared of. Too often we stay in our comfort zone. We will be doing a Bible study with our kids on this speaker, He is very powerful and you know what He's under 30... so crazy.

**On a side note, today was my sister's baby shower. She is having a boy, naming him James. My grandma still has suspicions that it will be a girl, my grandma had guessed all of us grand-children's genders before we were born. My mom one times had even bet her house that she was going to have a boy, but just like my grandma had guessed it was a girl. My grandma let us keep the house! That was lots of fun, I can't wait til I will be able to have a baby shower and get all sorts of clothes and stuff. Maybe someday in the future :)

These things still amaze me...

Okay, now I got this email from Apple about the new Ipod Shuffle, and this sooooo awesome! I never thought that this would amaze me, but it still does.

Chris Folmsbee speaker

Chris Folmsbee -notes
An new kind of youth ministry: Incorporating new ideas and practices for
making disciples

Reculturing Evangelism
Proclaiming is with just our mouths, declaring involves every part of our
lives. The way I talk, what I do, and how I love.
Go from "I must obey".... To "I love..."
The Bible isn't easy and explainable but msyerious and complex, and it
should be.
Reculturing Education
Fill the education to meet the needs of the students, not our own
preferences
Never stay static, always evolve
Concentrate on the depth not the breadth
Interactive/Experiential education
People learn better in groups.
Stop worrying about the end product, concentrate on the process of their
own evolution instead of a cookie cutter end product

*** Never be content with where you are in your walk, constantly look for
God and seek after God's voice, Stay humble- never be to cocky to say that
you've messed up, never stop loving, read God's Word.

Recultering Mission
We shouldn't just support missions, but be a missionary everyday
Don't separate the sacred and the secular, realize that God is working in
every area of my life
Mission trips don't mean we have to go far away, missions can be right in
our own city!
Everyone is called to be a missionary, whether in town or overseas
Every has been given gifts and skills to be a missionary, given unique
gifts and skills

Day 2 Session #1

David Crowder and Kendall Payne were entertainment for the worship and had
a speaker Kenda Creasy Dean talked about have we been spiritually deaf to
being able to hear God's voice in his leading in our life.

Also, for fun you should download the song "I hate supermodels" by Kendall
Payne, we were laughing our heads off and she has a really pure sounding
voice.

Day 2 Morning

Day 2, completing the second part of the Critical Concerns course of
Techknowledgy. After we complete the course, we are going to go grocery
shopping and buy food rather than buy fast food all week. Man, they did
not provide any food at all...After that we have a General Session with the
David Crowder band and speaker coming up after that.

Reveal

After lunch today we started the critical concerns course, reaching kids
through today's techknowledgy. The speakers were Jay Delp (who does all the
videography for the convention) and Joel Lusz (Youth pastor for over 20
years). They went through a lot of video editing programs and what
different ways we could be able to use them. It was awesome to be able to
talk with others who are ministry like us and how they are using media for
their kids.
After the session we went into the arena and we ran into the speakers, and
we were able to talk with them about ministry and encouraged us that it
doesn't matter about the numbers. Also talked about having babies, and he
says you need to have them and especially a girl. You will love having a
girl! We said, I know but what happens when they get to 18... He says you
start when they're young.

Tomorrow from 8:30-11:30am they will be continuing the course and talking
about use of Myspace and Xanga blogs for ministry to reach the kids in your
youth group. This will be a very great convention.

The Core

Woke up this morning, went to a free breakfast at the hotel, finished
getting ready and then headed over to the convention center to register. We
got a free backpack that has our whole schedule of events for the next few
days and some cool promo stuff. We looked around in the bookstore, and I am
pretty sure we are going to purchase the whole set of Nooma videos. If you
have never heard of Nooma, the set is awesome. They are inspirational DVD's
for ministry that have incredible messages behind them. They are so cool!
Right now we are just waiting around until 1pm for our Critical Concerns
course to begin, we sat and decided which seminars we wanted to go to,
looking forward to all of this! Tonight from 5pm- 7pm they are having a
madness sale on their bookstore, 30% off all their items. We are waiting
til then to purchase the Nooma series. More to come soon!

Children of men

Saw a preview of this movie yesterday, it looks so intence. I hope to be
able to see it when it comes out. Hopefully, it won't be too violent.

A futuristic society faces extinction when no children are born and the
human race has lost the ability to reproduce. England has descended into
chaos, until an iron-handed warden is brought in to institute martial law.
The warden's ability to keep order is threatened when a woman finds that
she is pregnant with what would be the first child born in 27 years.

Man of the Year movie

This might be becoming a tradition for Halloween, we yet again went to see
a movie on Halloween because we did it last year and the theaters were
empty, so we decided to see Man of the Year with Robin Williams. There were
some questionable parts, and a couple of words. They were few and far
between, we really enjoyed the movie and Robin Williams kept us laughing
almost the whole movie.

A site that you all might enjoy would be the Focus on the Family "Plugged
in", they do reviews on movies, music, video games. It tells you how many
cuss words in each movie, sexual content, etc. Pretty good, and we almost
always check every movie we see on this site. Check it out!